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me something I can use."
       "Something you can use?" Jhuun mused. He was busy on a nearby console, though Gabriel could see him press a finger to his temple. "Mar shriva kusa rhan-taa."
       "Ma r shriva kusa rhan-taa," G abriel repeated. He knew he had massacred the pronunciation. Jhuun had been attempting to teach him Eunnoian phrases all week, a clever way to pass the time as they tediously fiddled with and tested shield frequencies, but he found the syntax completely counter-intuitive to his Human brain, and on top of that, he realized that most of the sounds were near- impossible for him to reproduce. There was a whispery trilling sound that accompanied certain consonants, including the first letter of Jhuun's name, that he couldn't seem to master with his clumsy Human tongue.
       He supposed it wasn't such a bad situation. Jhuun had shared the story of a brief stint on Section 6, early in the war, where he and other Eunnoians had been matched with the Fnorn. They quickly realized, after a few days of attempted language training, that the Fnorn were completely unable to form the trilling phonemes and the Eunnoians were unable to form the highpitched nasal sounds required to speak the Fnorn language. The groups had been quickly reassigned.
       "I see you smiling," Gabriel said, waving a finger out from underneath the shield generator in Jhuun's general direction. "What did you just make me say? It's not obscene, is it?"
       "No," Jhuun said with another stuttered laugh. "It means…it does not directly translate, but the idea is that you are telling someone you can see the stars in their eyes. It is a compliment. You would tell it to someone you care for."
       "Oh." A few beats and Gabriel pretended to be intensely focused on the wires of the shield generator. It suddenly felt awfully hot underneath there. "It's nice. Maybe not very useful. Not for me anyway."
       "Perhaps not," Jhuun said softly. "Have you finished your modifications?"
       "Just about. Let's try it."
       Sliding out from under the generator, glad to be able to focus on defeating the M-Alpha, Gabriel went to stand by Jhuun, poised over the remote controls of the M-Alpha. With a flick of a switch, the shield generator was activated. It produced a bright ebbing light, a small-scale version of the energy shields the allied races used for defense. Facing the generator was the M-Alpha, still hooked up to its weak power source, the bare minimum required for them to test-fire the weapon without utterly destroying their shield generator and the workshop around it.
       "Readying to fire the M-Alpha," Gabriel said. "Firing now."
       The M-Alpha hummed and glowed amber as Gabriel hit the button, directing the weakened beam of energy in a wide beam toward the shield. Even watching the dim, near-harmless amber glow of the weapon left Gabriel's blood running cold.
       A successful trial would have energized him, but unfortunately, the test did not last long. The amber beam easily penetrating the modified shield, making the shield generator spark and break down.
       With a frustrated sigh, Gabriel terminated power to the M-Alpha before they lost their shield generator. He doubted Xhani would be pleased if they destroyed their equipment.
       "Shit," Gabriel muttered. "We're not even close to a breakthrough."
       "Don't feel badly," Jhuun said, though it was obvious he felt as frustrated as Gabriel. He drew in a breath and raised his long, elegant arms above
    his head, stretching.
       Gabriel found himself staring a little unabashedly at the graceful arc of his companion's body, at the muscles and bones on the bare chest that weren't quite where they would be on a Human. The collarbone ridges fluttered a little as Jhuun brought his arms down again, making a sound a little like a moan.
       "We have other theories," Jhuun said.
       Gabriel blinked, looking away before Jhuun could notice him staring.
       "We will find